Garrison Joe

My experience with an early one with a Rock Island Armory mark was that it was barely usable due to poor machining. I believe they have fixed most of the errors they made in early production, but that is not from personal experience, as I will not ever have another to put through a serious test. They certainly use a lot of MIM parts (MIM is metal injection molding). This results in sintered parts with noticeable seams from the molds (unless they are carefully removed). But even close attention to removing mold marks does not make a MIM part equal to a machined-from-bar-stock part. I consider the use of MIM parts on fire control parts a major error for any firearm used for serious purposes. Armscor still makes most of their sears, disconnectors, thumb safeties, magazine releases and several other parts with MIM technology. The examples I have seen and discussed with other owners have needed a major action job before they were fit for serious match shooting. Here's a video of a knowledgeable shooter testing and tweaking an Armscor 1911 in .45 auto. The Springfield, Remington and Ruger 1911s are not much more money, and are considerably better in their machining and metal selection. IMHO. As you can tell, it all depends upon how good you expect your pistol to be. I expect a level of smoothness, crispness and reliability that requires me to do a lot of action work on even my Colt models. Good luck, GJ

It's always wise to return to the rulebook instead of interpreting rules to be something other than written. A bent bolt handle would sure seem like an external modification from the design that the Czech's (and adopted by Yugoslavia) prepared in 1924, which was a straight bolt handle action. The 48 uses an intermediate-length action, not the full length of a German 98. So, receiver, bolt and other parts are different. The 48 dropped the magazine cutoff also. Looking up the date of end of WW II (VJ Day), that was Sept 2, 1945. Considerably before 1948. If the rules really ARE supposed to allow the use of the Yugo 48, then let's get them changed so they CLEARLY allow this particular design of the Yugo Mauser. We've talked around this particular situation several times before and the rules have always stood as written originally at the end of those discussions, with the emphasis given to "enforce the rules as written." We do not do our potential BAMM shooters any favors by making it impossible for them to read the rules and obtain a clear answer in all situations. Good luck, GJ

Da nada. Or are we saying "no problemo" any more? Mas o menos. Check your ejection and fired brass - should be no damage to the mouths. Should be good feed, easy racking, reliable. If not, find the problem and stomp it out. No shock buff - no mooning. Good luck, GJ

The Yugoslavian 24/47 was an arsenal rebuild on the original Model 24 design. Has been judged legal every time I've shot it. The Model 48 was "designed after WW II" and is judged not legal for BAMM at major matches that follow rules. Although it's very similar, it's a different design. Biggest modification - bent bolt handle. Be aware both of those have a shorter action than the normal Mauser. This means there is a shorter OAL on the loaded cartridges and a different stock if you ever restock it. Good luck, GJ

This isn't just the standard flat mainspring housing. This one is angled to have more metal at the bottom than the top, so the housing makes for a larger grip at the bottom than at the top (ALA a hog leg revolver grip frame). If you look at the ad for this in the Brownell's site, it explicitly says it forces the shooter's hand upward into the grip safety. Directly quoting the web page: Good luck, GJ

I'd bet that V-Grip housing will make a non-beavertail safety gun (Traditional) try to bite the web of the hand even worse than normal. Since it forces the hand up into the grip safety area. But with a beavertail, no problem. Good luck, GJ

Three possible suspects could be grabbing the slide/barrel at halfway-forward on the closing cycle of the slide. Barrel bushing grabbing the barrel Disconnector not sliding down to allow bottom of slide to pass by Ejector pivoting enough to grab the narrow slot in bottom of slide that the ejector slides within Sudden bushing tightness isn't something likely to "just pop up". Unless you see the inside of bushing galled or the outside of barrel scarred, and bushing is not super tight on barrel when you disassemble the gun, probably not there. Disconnector needs a drop of oil on it's tip every time you clean gun. That disconnector is not driven upward by much of a spring (one leaf of the three-legged leaf "sear" spring). It could have it's channel in the slide filled with gunk and be not wanting to be pushed down by slide. Ejector pivoting would be my guess from what little you have to work on. If the ejector is moveable by hand, you need to re-pin it and make it solid. It could pivot up and down, or rotate some sideways (especially if one of the two legs on the extractor has sheared off). If ejector has been damaged (peened), it could be dragging in it's raceway. That, though, would seem to be a regular drag on the slide, not a one-every-200 rounds problem. Then again, it's probably something else..... ??? Fourth possibility - probably very rare.....Did the slide release wedge itself in the disassembly notch of the slide somehow? Good luck, GJ

You will find that it is the MAINSPRING that is the big contributor to how difficult it is to rack the slide. Because the mainspring is what you are compressing as the hammer goes back, and it is stronger than the recoil spring. Don't use a light recoil spring because of cocking ease. Use correct one to properly return slide during firing, and also checking that you can charge an empty gun when using a fully loaded magazine (both from slide lock, and manually racking slide). You need enough force to go to battery 100% after stripping the top round from a fully charged magazine, even with a dirty chamber. Run this test: The effort difference between racking the slide with hammer down, to racking with hammer already cocked, shows you that the effort to cock the hammer (against mainspring) is the main force! It's normally about 2-3 times as hard to rack-to-cock than it is to rack-an-already-cocked 1911. Of course, that higher level of force drops off when the slide has retracted about 3/4 inch, because the hammer has fully cocked at that distance. Full slide travel during cycling - about 2 inches. The rest of the backwards travel - is compressing the recoil spring only. Good luck, GJ

I run a 15 recoil and 19 main with 165 PF loads. Don't need or want a shock buff with that. That combo in my gun still lets me shoot a factory load when I need to. CHeck to see how far you are tossing empties. 4-6 feet from you is very common for a well tuned gun. Good luck, GJ

I'd say there's something you are not seeing. Bout time for the gun to visit a good smith that knows 1911s well, I'd say. Your barrel link pin should not be free to come out. Take center punch to the each end and give it a good smack to upset the end of the pin (make it swell a little). I've sheared a link pin before when it came loose. Then since the link could not pull the barrel down out of lockup, I had to press down on barrel hood to open slide. Good luck, GJ

You should have been able to see what caused the lockup when you finally got the gun disassembled. Now is a little late, because the material that jammed it is probably gone - since it moves normally now. At this point, you need to closely examine the slide rails on the frame, and the grooves in the bottom of slide for galling or other damage or remains of foreign materials. It's almost certainly the slide to frame contact that is causing slide to stick, if it has stuck half way back and also at full retracted position. The disconnector touches the slide but it does not have enough surface area to lock the slide to it. Muzzle end of barrel goes through the barrel bushing. Something galled or stuck there could lock slide forward, but not so much at half way or all way back. If the frame or slide ways are galled, heavily scratched or otherwise rough, there are stones/files that can clean that up, but for top accuracy's sake, I'd have a good 1911 smith do that refitting, because it's easy to make it too loose and thus lose some accuracy and lifetime of the gun. Good luck, GJ

Accurate #7 will very easily run a 155 to 160 grain lead slug at 1000 FPS, even up to 1100 FPS according to Lyman Cast Bullet handbook. Win 231 is a little fast burning to be pushing hard under those heavy slugs in .38 Super. In Lyman, they don't even list 231 with 147 grain bullets. Good luck, GJ

Well, a 1911 in 10mm will easily make 150 power factor, even major. 8) WB wire allows loading data. That puts a lot of responsibility on the READER to check that the data makes sense and is safe. I like it that way. Good luck, GJ

Ya know, a properly fitted trigger bow (stirrup) rides in a raceway BELOW the surface of the frame. Unless the frame has been worn away or the trigger bow sticks out from the surface of the frame, that magazine will NOT be able to touch the trigger bow. I'd be looking at the trigger bow for being fitted badly or being warped. Put in a new trigger and make sure the bow is down lower than the frame surface both right and left! I have an early Armscorp 1911 in which the raceway was not cut deeply enough on the right side. Sticks almost every empty magazine so the mag has to be manually yanked out of the gun. But that is the gun, not the fault of a Tripp mag. I've got a raceway stone, and when I get some time to fiddle with the bow ;) I'll make that thing work correctly. Good luck, GJ

First, a bullet pressing on the mag release isn't going to cause trigger to stick. It might cause mag to try to drop out of gun, but not a stuck trigger. My guess would be the mag body is slightly fat. THAT could cause the trigger to be sticky and hard to press since the stirrup of the trigger slides around both sides of the magazine body. Try miking the magazine body. When they get dropped and dented up, they can swell to be fat enough to interfere with trigger. Brownells even has a gauge to check if your mag bodies are out of spec (too thick). But - Why on the third round to be fired ???? Don't see a reason to interfere with trigger just at that number of rounds (5) left in mag. Good luck, GJ

My reading on this is No, its not legal. Max of two loops per holder is the way I read the rules. If those seven loops were sewn onto a full belt, it would be legal. If the holder could be cut into 3 2-mag holders, it would be legal. But, unfortunately, as made, it would not be legal. Now, to me the rules covering this situation seem a little "picky". It might be possible to get a favorable ruling from the WB committee on this by requesting a review. Or, just get the style of 2 loop holders that several of the commercial leather makers have been making. That's what many of us have done. Good luck, GJ

Another thing that was really cool at that NM State BAM Match - we were shooting easterly in the afternoon on a clear day, with the steel painted black. Through the spotting scope it was very easy to see the last 25-50 yards of the bullet flight! Looked like a gray streak falling down against the black background until the bullet slammed into target (or dirt backstop) and splashed the target with lead streaks. For someone who thinks BAM rifle bullets fly fairly horizontally to the target, seeing that really reinforces the reality that we are rainbowing slugs into targets! Good luck, GJ

BAM Match shot as "sniper" is commonly from a benchrest or even sticks. BAMM shot as combat or action could be shot from the 4 military positions (Standing, Kneeling, Sitting, Prone), or standing only, or using rough and ready rests. Shooting position requirements will vary! For example, at the NM State Wild Bunch Match that just wrapped up, I set up a Sniper stage with 10 shots from bench or sticks on 2 targets, maximum distance 250 yards. And a Combat stage that put 5 rounds standing and 5 rounds "any non-fixed-support position (no benchrest or sticks) but including braced against a vertical post" at maximum distance of 210 yards. Targets - about 1/3 scale steel buffaloes. Both were fun. Other BAM shooters will affirm that I am always looking for a way to shoot prone from sling whenever I can. All this means - practice all the possible positions. Sooner or later, you will use them! Good luck, GJ

If the rifle was originally built as a sporting rifle, it's not a military rifle (in as-issued wartime condition) by BAM rules, and is not legal to shoot in BAM matches. Nor would one of the sporting and target models of the Springfield 1903 that the armory built after WW I be a legal gun to use. Good luck, GJ

Well, Dusty, I was talking from research I had been doing trying to get a Krag ready. Guess a bunch of it was nonsense. Thanks for pointing it out. The best way back in the day for loading a Krag quickly was referring to the Parkhurst attachment to the Krag. http://www.historicalfirearms.info/post/157961456959/parkhurst-clip-loading-device-in-1892-the-us/embed Well, if you have one of the 100 or so guns so modified with a Parkhurst device, and the special charger clips, you could load down through the magazine. 20 rounds of fire in 60 seconds was possible by service members in 1901 testing. Otherwise, yeah, there are several hand-made charger designs that are found on the web. Some work pretty well, they say. Here's one video using a standard Mosin Nagant charger, pressing rounds through the loading gate. But you're right, looking at my gun, nothing will go into the mag down through the top of the receiver. Oops. Good luck, GJ

Another way to load a .30-40 Krag action (like Springfield) is to have a .303 Enfield stripper clip loaded with 5 rounds, and strip conventionally down top of action. Takes practice. A 1898 (+ or -) vintage Krag has a weak action as it is a VERY early bolt action. Limit loads to about 40,000 PSI as per good loading manuals. They have a reputation of being accurate if barrel still in good shape. And CMP will rebarrel with a Criterion target-quality barrel of original profile if you can wait for them to get to it (6 months waiting for a recent rebarrel request I got on waiting list for). Good luck, GJ

Like most 1911 mag bodies, the largest gap between the lips is at the front of the Tripp mag body. The Tripp follower is a tight enough fit, and has a uniquely deep skirt at the front end of the follower that prevents a straight out the front removal approach. That deep skirt is what prevents a Tripp follower from nose-diving the front end down into the mag body on the last round. The skirt runs all the way around the underside of the follower (just not deep anywhere but under the front end) - so you can't twist the follower over 90 degrees, either. The only way it comes out is "curled out" through that wide gap of the lips. That's the strategy. Here's the tactics. Don't use a punch to capture the mag spring. Use a suitable size allen wrench - I usually grab a 1/8" short arm allen wrench. The allen wrench gives you a long leg to hold against the mag body so the short arm doesn't move and let go of the spring. Depress the follower with a blunt rod to get the follower down to about hole 5. The unsharpened end of a flat carpenter's pencil chucked in a bench vise works real well and won't gouge the plastic of the follower. Push mag over the pencil, depressing follower with pressure a little forward of the center of follower. Insert allen wrench through the 7 hole, just above the last spring loop that is not "up in the hollow base" of the Tripp follower. Release pressure on depressor rod, and follower will be loose in the mag body because you caught the spring with the short arm of allen wrench. Slide follower up to the lips, then press down on the back end of the follower (the square end) so the follower rotates it's front up and exposes the bottom edge of the skirt. Needle nose pliers used carefully allow you to get one jaw of pliers into that hollow skirt, and you can first pull the skirt out the front of the lips, and then rotate the back end of follower up through the front of the lips. Pull the allen wrench and catch the spring. Reassembly, as they often say, is the reverse. Well, not quite. I find it easier to just drop the spring in the body, fit the follower onto the top end of spring so the spring fits into skirt of follower. Compress the spring with just your fingers pressing down, start back end of follower through the wide part of lips, then rotate the front of follower through the lips and let it snap up once the skirt is inside the mag body. But.... I usually just wipe off the follower unless I have really filled the mag full of dirt. ;) Good luck, GJ

To your original question, yeah, you can usually get close to an intermediate velocity of your choice using a straight line interpolation between a published min and max load. Be aware, though, that bullet seating depth, bullet diameter, alloy hardness, lube type, barrel groove diameter, and lots of other variables can add up to give you +/- 200 FPS on a .45 auto load compared to that "good published data." ONLY testing over the chrony with your loads and your gun is good enough for WB. And another big + to never TRYING to run at 150 PF. I run at 167 PF and never look back at "bargaining with a MDQ" when a cold day or a backup gun has to be deployed. Good luck, GJ

I'll remind you WB'ers of the obvious. Your pistol ammo should be able to take down well calibrated knockdown targets on demand. Might want north of 100 rounds of well proven KD ammo as part of your load out of the 371 match pistol rounds. Good luck,GJ

82 last posted number. May not be any updates past that.... You can see the updates yourself at: https://www.sassnet.com/Downloads/Who's%20attending%20Wild%20Bunch%2006152018.pdf Good luck, GJ